This document relates to techniques, apparatus and systems for producing laser beams, including tunable and wavelength-swept lasers.
A laser includes an optical cavity or resonator and a laser gain medium in the optical cavity. A laser can be designed to include a frequency tuning element to sweep the laser frequency or wavelength during the laser operation. A wavelength-swept laser beam from such a laser can be used in various applications. As an example, fast wavelength-swept lasers are used in optical coherent tomography (OCT) applications and sensor interrogation applications.